Spring-wheel.



G. LBEPBR. SPRING WHEEL. APPLIGATION FILED MAR. 25, 1910.

992,719. 1 Patented 113 11 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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UNITED AE- Q T FICE.

GnANr' Learns, or vIsA'LIa, CALIFORNIA.

SPRING-WHEEL.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, GRANT Lnnrnn, citizen of the United States, residingat Visalia,

1n the county of Tulare and State of California, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Spring-\Vheels, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to vehicle wheels and has vfor its object. theprovision of a spring wheel. the construction of which -is such aspositively to prevent jolting orjarring of the telly and its associatedparts. incident to traveling over rough, uneven roads.

A further object is to provide a spring" wheel including pivota-llyunited inner and outer spokes for connection with the hub and folly,respectively, said folly 0r riin be ing provided with a circumferentialseating recess for the reception of a. tire.

A further object is to form the hub of the wheel in two sections, one ofwhich is provided with spaced flanges adapted to sup-' port a series offlat springs to which are connected the inner spokes'of the wheel, therebeing coil springs secured to the outer spokes and outer hub sectionrespectively, and forniing av cushion forsaid spokes.

A further object is to provide a ball and socket connection between the.spokes and the rim of the wheel, and means piercing the sockets and theadjacent ends of the spokes for clamping the tire to its seat on therim.

A still further object of the invention is generally to improve thisclass of devices, so as to increase their utility, durability andcfliciency.

Further objects and advantages will ap-' pear in the followingdescription, it being understood that various changes in form,proportions and minor details of construction may be resorted to withinthe scope of the appended claims.

For a full understanding of the invention and the merits thereof,reference is to be had to the following description and accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Figure l is'a side elevation of a spring wheel constructed in accordancewith my invention; Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view taken on the line2.2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail vertical sectional viewtaken on the line 33 of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrowone of the side plates or disks being removed. Fig. 4 is anSpecification of Letters Patent. Application filed March 25, 1910.Serial No. 551,524..

PatentcdMay 16, 1911.

end View ofthe hub section; Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of aportion of the tire, the covering being'broken away to expose thefibrous iilling.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated inall the views of the drawings by the samereference characters.

The improved spring wheel forming the subject ma ttcr of the presentinvention comprises a hub formed of inner and outer sections, theinner'hub section 5 having its oppositc ends threaded at 6 and providedwith a longitudinally disposed bore 7 for the reception of the axle.Secured to or formed integral with the inner hub section 5 are spacedcircumferential flanges 8 having cylindrical sockets 9 formed thereinand a The outer hub section 11 is preferably formed in two parts, eachhaving its outer; end threaded at 12, one of said sections be ingprovidedwith an 1ntegral reinforcing 'rib 13 having interior threads 14for engagement with the correspondingly threaded end of the adjacentouter hub section so that said outer hub sections may be quicklyassembled and readily detached so asto expose the interior mechanism ofthe hub when necessary.

Interposed between the inner and outer huh sections are a plurality offlat spr1ngs 15 having their opposite ends inclined 1nwardlv in thedirectionof the adyacent flanges 8. Pivotally connected at 16 to theopposite ends of the flat springs 15. are hnks 17 having spherical heads18 adapted to enter the sockets 9 in the flanges 8, thus to hold thesprings 15 in position on said flanges, while at the same time allowinga limited longitudinal movement of the springs on said flanges incidentto theexpansion and contraction of sard springs.

Surrounding the hub 1- a rim or telly 19 having a plurality of spaceddepending ears 20 formed integral tl1erew1th and provided. withhemispherical depressions or recesses 21 adapted to register with eachother to form sockets for the reception of the adjacent ends of theouter spoke sections 22.- The outer ends of the spokes 9-2 are providedwith spherical heads 23 adapted to lit? i enter the sockets 21, whilethe inner ends of said spokes are pivotally connected at 24 to innerspoke sections 25. The inner spoke sections 25 extend through opemn s 26formed in. the reinforcing rib 13 an also through corresponding openingsin the adjacent flats rings 15, said inner. spokes bemg provided withterminal threads for engagement with clamping 'nuts 27, which latterbear against the a jacent faces of the springs 15 and serve to rigidlysecure the inner spokesin 1position thereon.

Surrounding t e spoke sections 22 and 25 arecoil springs 28, each havingone end thereof secured to an eye 29 on the reinforcing rib 13 and itsother end bearin against a nut 30 on the adjacent outer spo re 22, asshown. The nuts 30 are threaded on the outer spokes 22 and are providedwith depressions 31 which receive the springs 28 so that by rotating thenuts on the threaded portions of the outer spokes 22, the tension of thesprings 28 may e regulated so as to vary the resiliency of the wheel. v

Disposed at the opposite ends of the hub are detachable caps 32, eachhaving a threaded opening 33'formed therein for engagement with thethreaded end 6, of the inner hub section 5 and provided with an inwardlyextending flange 34 having its inner face threaded for engagement withthe terminal threads 12 on the outerhub section, thus to hold the innerand outer hub sections in as-' sembled position and also to preventaccidental displacement of the links 17.

Surrounding the hub'of the wheel is a casing or housing, preferablyformed of oppositely disposed lates or disks 35, one of which isprovided with radiating lugs 36 spaced apart to form openings 37, forthe reception of the outer spokes 22, said 111 s 36 serving to maintainthe plates. 35 1n proper relation to each other and thus allow apart, asindicated at a slight lateral movement of the spokes 22 within therecesses 37 when the wheel is in motion. Bolts or similar fasteningdevices 38 piercethe plates 35 and engage the reinforcing Ilb 13, therebeing similar fastening devices 39 connecting one of the plates with theadjacent lugs 36, as shown.- .'-'Ihe plates 35 not only serve toreinforce and strengthen the wheel, but also form a housing andprotectionfor the springs 28.

The rim or felly 19 is provided with a U-shaped seating recess 40adapted to receive the tire 41, the innervfaces of the sections formingthe rim or felly 19 being spaced 42. The tire 41 is pfeferably formed ofa single length of anila rope, flax, jute, hemp or other fibrousmaterial, so as to form a yieldable tread surface without danger ofpuncture. .The fibrous filling 41 is covered by a strip of leather,rubber or similar material 43, the adjacent longitudinal edges of whichare brought together and sewed or otherwise united to form acircumferential lip 44 adapted to fit into the recess 42.

Bolts or similar fastening devices 45 extend through the sockets 21 andheads 23 of the innerspokes and serve to clamp the sections comprisingthe" rim or felly mengageload on the spokes will cause the latter todepressthe leaf springs 15, the ball and socket connection between thelinks 17 and flanges 8 permitting a slight movement of the springsrelative to said flanges. Should the weight of the load be excessive thesprings 18 will come into pla and thus assist in preventing undue stra1non the felly and its associated parts incident totraveling over rough,uneven roads.

If. desired, the covering 43 ma be provided with metal rivets orprojections 45.t0 prevent skidding and also to prevent excessive wear onthe tire. The wheelis extremely simple in construction and will be'found admirably adapted for the attainment of the ends in view.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A vehicle wheel including inner and outer hub sections, one of whichis provided with spaced circumferential flanges, flatsprings interposedbetween said hub sections, a ball and socket connection between eachspring and the adjacentflanges, a rim, and spokes forming a connectionbetween the rim and springs. I

2. A vehicle wheel including innerand outer hub sections, one of whichis provided with spaced circumferential flan sockets formed therein,flat springs interposed between said hub sections, links pivotallymounted on the springs and engaging the sockets in the flanges, a rim,and spokes connecting the rim and said springs.

ges having 3. A vehicle wheel includmg inner and 1 outer hub sect-ions,one of which is provided with spaced circumferential flanges and theother with a reinforcing" rib, flat springs intcrposed between the hubsections, a pivotal connection between each spring and the ad-' jacentflange, a rim, and sectional spokes forming a connection between the rimand adjacent springs, said spokes extendin through the reinforcing ribof the outer hu section.

4. A vehicle wheel including inner and outer hub sections, one-of whichis provided with spaced circumferential flanges, flat springs interposedbetween the inner and outer hub sections, a pivotal connection betweeneach spring and the adjacent flange, a rim, inner and outer spokeshaving their adjacent ends pivotally united, a pivotal connectionbetween the outer end of each outer spoke and the rim, the inner end ofeach inner spoke being provided with means for engagement with theadjacent fiat spring, and caps forming closures for the opposite ends ofthe hub andprovided with means for detachable connection with theadjacent hub sections.

'5. A vehicle wheel including inner and outer hub sections, one of whichis provided with spaced circumferential flanges, flat springssurrounding sald flanges, a-rim, spokes connecting the rim and springs,coil springs surrounding said spokes and bearing against the outer'hubsection, and means for regulating the tension of the coil springs.

6. A vehicle wheel including inner and outer hub sect-ions, one of whichis provided with spaced circumferential flanges, fiat springs interposedbetween said hub sections, the outer hub section being formed in twoparts having their adjacent edges threaded, one of the parts of theouterhub section being provided with a reinforcing rib, a rim, sectionalspokes extending through the reinforcing rib and forming a connectionbetween the springs and rim, the outer section of each spoke beinthreaded, coil springs surrounding the spo es, nuts engaging thethreaded outlet sections of the spokes and bearing against the coilsprings, and

caps forming closures for the opposite ends of the hub.

7. A vehicle wheel including inner and outer hub sections, one of whichis provided with spaced circumferential flanges, flat springs interposedbetween the hub sections, a rim, sectional spokes forming a connectionbetween the flat springs and the rim of the wheel, adjusting collarscarried by the spokes, coil springs interposed between the adjustingcollars and outer hub section, caps forming closures for the oppositeends of i tween each flat spring and the adjacent flange, caps havingthreaded portions for engagement with the threaded portions of the hubsections, a rim, pivotally connected spokes forming a connection betweenthe rim and flat springs, the outer hub section being provided with acircumferential reinforcing rib having openings formed therein for thereception of the adjacent spoke sections, adjustable collars carried bysome of the spoke sections, coil springs interposed between the collarsand the outer hub section, and guard plates engaging the rein forcingrib of the outer hub section and forming a housing for the coil springs.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two wltnesses.

GRANT LEEPER. L. s.] \Vitnesses:

'D. G. OVERALL,

A. F. BROWN.

